[PP-F11] Unscathed

[Mari 1]

“What’s the matter?”

Mari hissed as she loomed over the struggling man. “Weren’t you gonna end me? Where did all that Bravado go?”

He writhed and kicked beneath her. A man twice Mari’s size clad in silver armour. A thin buzz cut and stubble on his chin, his weapon - a large axe had been thrown several feet away. Away from his reach. Around the two were clear signs of a scuffle, and to the side, curled up in a ball by the base of a tree was a crying girl, knees held up to her chest and head buried into a ball. Her tiny form shaking like a leaf, she couldn’t be any older than 7, 10 at most.

Mari had the man pinned beneath her - straddling his hips. Not exactly a position she wanted anyone catching her in - but sometimes, when you were taking out the trash you found yourself in less than ideal positions. His wrists had been bound with thin garrote wire - and every time he tried to struggle they’d cut into his skin.

“Git off!” He slurred, trying to buck Mari off but she was stalwart in her position. With her hand held out to the side she’d materialize her weapon. Something she rarely did against players. But this… She let it drop to the floor and placed the polearm over his neck - levering it beneath her knee. Further pinning him to the floor.

“Now…” Mari said quietly - barely hiding the hatred that dripped from her tone, a grim flash of her past mirrored in her cold and uncaring gaze. She ignored the choking gasps he made. She didn’t care. “Mind telling me why you were trying to drag a screaming and crying child out of the town?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “Why were you threatening to PK her if anyone else got too close?” These were the people she hated most, it took every ounce of strength to not flip her halberd and cleave his head clean off. It’d be cathartic. She is the unwilling arbiter and executioner of this unexpected yet all too common tale.

He didn’t respond. Instead trying to push her off of him. Mari pulled out a smaller blade, this time a dagger - and with a quick flourish coated it in toxic venom. Run of the mill stuff - but useful nonetheless. She shoved the blade into his shoulder and he screamed out.

“F-Fine! FINE! It… It…IT…” His beady brow eyes shifted left and right as he spluttered. “Uh…L-Laughing Coffin!” He called out. “T-They got me to-ARghh!”

Mari had twisted the blade, watching his health slowly tick down. As much as she wanted him to….she wouldn’t let him die. “Wrong answer." Mari said coolly. “You know…so many people use that name as an excuse- because who would question it?” She asked. “You ran across the wrong person though.” Mari gave him a sarcastic pat on his cheek before standing, shoving her foot hard own on his chest as she pointed the halberd at his neck. “I’m married to a member.”  A lie, a half lie…Lancaster wasn’t Laughing Coffin anymore but this guy didn’t need to know that.

“I know their MO - and it doesn’t involve kids. So again.”  A stomp on his chest. “Why the FUCk were you dragging her away, and to WHERE?”


Mari | HP: 1220/1220 | EN: 154/154 | DMG: 21 | MIT:143 | ACC:4 | AA  | FL.AURA: 8 | BH:67 | BRN: 56 | ENV-O: 32 | PARA-V | LD:5 | True Tier 15                                                                                                      

[Jomei 0]

  

Jomei the emerald duelist

Spoiler notes Level: 35 | Paragon: 92 | Tier: 4(13)  Jomei | HP: 1060/1060 | EN: 144/144 | DMG: 21 | MIT:44 | ACC:4 | AA  | F-SPIRIT | EVA:3 | BH:58 | HB: 23 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 8 | LD:5 Equipment: Vicious Mockery : ACC II | Taunt | Blight  Fencer's Regalia - Trepidation: Vamp D II | HB | MIT  Token of Serenity: HB| EVA III   equipped Vicious Mockery Fencer's Regalia - Trepidation Token of Serenity battle-ready inventory Listed Below skills Spoiler Skills Rapier R5 | TECH Spec. Combat Mastery DMG R3 Cloth Armor R5 Charge B Healing R5 Energis Howl Fighting Spirit Quick Change Extended Weight Limit Searching R4 Extra: Concentration Survival   Parry Forgotten King's Authority Assault Mode  Lady Luck Meditation Mods Athletics Emergency Recovery Vengeful Riposte Justified Riposte Night Vision Addons Stamina  Focus Precision Nimble Focused Howl buffs Spoiler Buffs Dimensional Backpack +1 BRI slot Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat     Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)     Tasty: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.  Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll Item Stash: +1 BRI slot Advanced Training: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

 

Like a picture straight from the pages of a fairy tale.

With towers that pierced the clouds, a near perfect castle sat on the edge of a cliff, high above the green filled valley below. Guarded by a dragon that dipped from the clouds to scan for intruders, before perching atop the battlements. Its scales were black as night, a high contrast to the pristine white stone of the keep. No one knows which figure of royalty resides within, apparently many who watch the castle claim to have never seen any life within - besides the dragon of course. Yet the creature still kept its watch on the long bridge that spanned across the valley, awaiting any who dare approach.

Jomei simply watched from a distance, absolutely no intention of stepping foot on that pathway across. Could this be a rumor that he could see he and Lessa tackling one day? Possibly. But today his meeting was not with his love, rather a near complete stranger. 

As the figure approached from behind, lowering their hood, Jomei turned to greet the broker. "Alright, tell me what you found out." 

***

With menus open, Jomei scrolled through the information he received off of the broker. Information he was gifted would be more accurate. Turned out he saved his sister and her party when all hell broke loose on Floor Twenty Nine. So when Jomei received a message of thanks and favors earned, he knew exactly how he wanted to cash in his chips. Now when to act on it, that was an entirely different story. The whole ordeal was much bigger than he anticipated, and it was something he definitely couldn't handle alone. Maybe now he'd finally assemble a team.. when he was ready of course. 

"Do you think she's going to kill him?" 

"I dunno, should we help? I'd rather not mess with a PKer.." 

Jomei peeked up from the virtual messages after catching the whispers of the two bystanders. He looked at the two at first, standing off the side of the road watching as if they were witnessing a crime take place and doing nothing about it. Following their line of sight, he saw a familiar, ginger haired woman standing above an armored man, a small girl crying off to the side. Jomei's brow furrowed, unsure what to make of the scene. No one else had noticed what was going on, so he walked to the two players first. 

"I'll handle this. Just get out of here, no need to get guards involved." 

The two players looked at Jomei, and then each other, before nodding and running off in the opposite direction. Once they were out of earshot, Jomei would sigh to himself before intervening in whatever was going on.

"You know this isn't a good look." Jomei would call out to Mari as he stepped forward, placing himself between the small girl and the scene before them. "But I trust you've got a good reason to have that man pinned down?" he asked her, before half turning and lowering down to a squat. "Hey." he addressed the girl with a soft voice, "Its going to be okay, I promise."

Edited 1 hour ago by Jomei